George Offerman
The story of Abraham taking Isaac to be sacrificed is one of the most important stories, which is heavily eschatological in its meaning. This event, most likely ‘sealed the deal’ between God and Abraham, when God promised to make his descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky, and grains of dust on the earth. It challenged Abraham to act in faith, as he was told to kill his only son, and from human understanding, would have ended his line of descendents. This also foreshadowed God’s decision to allow His only begotten son to face execution, for the salvation of all who accept Him.
In Genesis 22, Abraham is asked: “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer hem there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Humanly speaking, Abraham must have been devastated by this request, but the story continues on with Abraham complying with God’s request. Abraham used his free will to comply, and in this story, demonstrated the meaning of walking in faith. Abraham complied with this seemingly ‘irrational’ request, because he trusted in the Word of God, and believed with out seeing.
The story continues with Abraham building an altar and preparing a fire. Isaac made an inquiry pertaining to the sacrificial ‘lamb’ and Abraham answered “God will provide”. The story then states Abraham tied up Isaac and placed him on this altar. What is not stated in the story, but left for matters of faith, is any struggle that took place between Abraham and Isaac. It would seem that Isaac went along with this demand by his father with strict obedience. This story reflects back almost exactly what God the Father would Ask God the Son to do, yet God the Father spared Abraham and Isaac the pain of actual death.
God’s angel appears to Abraham, and tells him to “lay no hand on the lad, or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me”. Abraham’s love for God exceeded virtually everything on this earth, and Abraham modeled the perfect love that God has for all of us. This event portends the eventual coming of the messiah, and this event was so powerful, that God identifies himself to prophets after this as the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. God sees no greater love than one’ laying down his life fro another, and Abraham, despite much personal consternation, was willing to sacrifice what was dearest to him, as to not offend the Lord. How we need to be more like this today.
God then makes a promise to Abraham for the third time. Notice in this third promise, he includes both aspects of the first two promises in one statement: And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the STARS of heaven AND as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice”” Genesis 22: 16-18
If one notices, God does not acknowledge Ishmael as Abraham’s son when it came to the promises made of inhabiting the lands promised to Abraham’s offspring, but also addresses the issue that Abraham’s going along with Sarah to have a child out of wedlock was a God give solution to God’s promise, and apparent procrastination in keeping his promise. This has hermeneutical relevance, in that we cannot change God’s ultimate plans, but definitely can change the pathway in which God’s will is ultimately fulfilled. The descendants of Ishmael continue to be influential in world matters, and are at the heart of what is known as the RELIGION OF PEACE. As was covered 2 weeks ago, this conflict will continue until the time of the anti Christ.
Abraham proved that walking in faith can have unbelievable positive outcomes, just like taking matters into one’s own hands can have very negative consequences. This story shows how one man’s faith can change the course of history, and it is a lesson that is lost to modern man. It is rare that anyone in the Church will walk in faith, and challenge those to walk beyond their own sight and understanding of the major issues of the day. For instance, most in the pro life movement do not believe the issue can be resolved in one swift move, but done in increments. This is the poison of man’s understanding, and not that of God, who is capable of making anything possible, even with one faithful man. We need to look at this story, and take in the lessons of faith, and apply them to our times. After all, God still exists, and is still the same God that wants salvation for all, regardless of how ‘sophisticated’ we think we are.
Showing posts with label Abraham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abraham. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
HERMENEUTICS 101: SODOM AND GOMORRAH
George Offerman
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is that of a microcosm of God’s love, and demonstrates the balance between Divine Mercy and Divine Justice. It also demonstrates how God views sexual sins, especially homosexuality, and the ultimate demise of these two cities shows the outcome of rampant and blatant misuse of God’s gift of sexuality to mankind. It also reflects the principle of the full cup, and how God will eventually break into history and pronounce and carry through on His judgments. And the last point is that both cities were destroyed by fire. This fire was so consuming that not a trace of the cities were left and God cursed the ground so nothing would ever grow there, nor would a city ever be built in that location ever again.
The story starts in Genesis 18:16 and runs through chapter 19:29, and is effectively broken up into three stories within the main story. The first is the fairly well known discourse Abraham has with the Lord pertaining to how many righteous men it would take to ‘save’ the cities. The second story is of the two angels who enter the city, and the men of the city want to ‘ravish’ them. The third part is the total destruction of the city with fire and brimstone, and Lot’s wife turning to look, and becoming a pillar of salt. This particular story, and series of events also have an eschatological meaning for Revelation times, as it demonstrates the need to be ‘in touch’ with God, and to utilize free will in matters of faith.
The discourse starts with the Lord stating to the two angels whether the Lord should inform Abraham of his plans to destroy the cities. Abraham then jumps into the conversation, and challenges the Lord on the Lord’s own precepts of not destroying the righteous with the wicked, and treating them the same. The Lord acquiesces on this point, and Abraham is able to get the lord to promise that if only 10 righteous could be found in the cities, the Lord would hold off judgment. This discourse shows, hermeneutically, that man is an active participant in the outcome of matters, and that calling God on his word, if done accurately, results in constancy of application.
The idea of only 10 righteous people holding off this severe of a judgment demonstrates how important each individual is to God, and that even one person living a righteous life, can change the outcome of regions. It is also a perfect demonstration of last week’s topic of the full cup principle, as there were no righteous people to be found, other than Lot and his family, and they were ordered to leave immediately. Given that the continued existence of Sodom and Gomorrah would have caused only needless suffering, God in his Divine Justice acted to end this needless suffering.
Abraham accompanies the two angels and goes to the home of Lot. The Men of Sodom observed Abraham with the two angels, who were incarnated as men. The inhabitants were so engrossed and/or possessed by their sexual passions that they surrounded the house and demanded to have these two men sexually. Even with the offers of Lot’s two daughters, the men of Sodom were only interested in the men. The punishment dealt to these lustful men was literal blindness. However, this judgment mirrored the moral blindness these men already suffered from, and they were now in the midst of physical darkness, mirroring their spiritual darkness. These men did not see the light, so they had their ability to see any light extinguished. This is often how it is with God. Very often, the consequences and judgments sent by God are very similar to the nature of the sin committed, so there will be no mistaking what the source of this is.
After the men are struck with blindness, the Lord is clear in his pronouncement that the cities will be destroyed, and that Lot and his family must leave immediately. The story states Lot ‘tarried’ and the angels responded by taking Lot and his family by the hand and removing them from the cities. This demonstrates that once God decides to act, it is sudden, and on his time line. God is clear with Lot and his family that the destruction is going to be so harsh and complete, that they are not even allowed to look at it “lest they die’. Lot’s wife, like someone in a garden in days gone by, decided to challenge those words, but this time God carried through with his promise. Lot then hid in a cave with his two daughters, as the only survivors of this judgment.
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah has eschatological ramifications. It was totally destroyed by fire and brimstone and nothing was left but ash. In the times of Revelation, fire and brimstone will be used on three separate occasions. The first trumpet is ‘fire mixed with hail’ that will destroy 1/3 of the trees and green plants, but will destroy all of the green grass. The city of Babylon will be destroyed by fire, and will burn in an inferno while the unsaved are forced to watch and contemplate their own fate, and finally the whole earth will be cleansed by fire that will consume virtually every archive and sign of sinful man to have ever existed on this planet. However, like Lot, the righteous will be told to leave the city before this fate occurs. Part of their righteousness will be to listen to this prompting and to obey. God will then finish off this ultimate monster, created by both evil men and the evil angel king. This destruction will be complete and permanent, so that nothing will be left from the age of sin to contaminate a new and perfect eternity.
For those who may be skeptical of many of the biblical accounts in the Old Testament, here is a site that may peak some of your interests. I was introduced to this information while Ron Wyatt was alive, and had access to some picture and information I no longer see on the site. It gives one pause to see such information and to contemplate how such judgments took place, while thinking about a God who is unchanging and will carry through with the same principles, no matter when in history sin takes place. For your discernment.
http://www.wyattmuseum.com/cities-of-the-plain.htm
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is that of a microcosm of God’s love, and demonstrates the balance between Divine Mercy and Divine Justice. It also demonstrates how God views sexual sins, especially homosexuality, and the ultimate demise of these two cities shows the outcome of rampant and blatant misuse of God’s gift of sexuality to mankind. It also reflects the principle of the full cup, and how God will eventually break into history and pronounce and carry through on His judgments. And the last point is that both cities were destroyed by fire. This fire was so consuming that not a trace of the cities were left and God cursed the ground so nothing would ever grow there, nor would a city ever be built in that location ever again.
The story starts in Genesis 18:16 and runs through chapter 19:29, and is effectively broken up into three stories within the main story. The first is the fairly well known discourse Abraham has with the Lord pertaining to how many righteous men it would take to ‘save’ the cities. The second story is of the two angels who enter the city, and the men of the city want to ‘ravish’ them. The third part is the total destruction of the city with fire and brimstone, and Lot’s wife turning to look, and becoming a pillar of salt. This particular story, and series of events also have an eschatological meaning for Revelation times, as it demonstrates the need to be ‘in touch’ with God, and to utilize free will in matters of faith.
The discourse starts with the Lord stating to the two angels whether the Lord should inform Abraham of his plans to destroy the cities. Abraham then jumps into the conversation, and challenges the Lord on the Lord’s own precepts of not destroying the righteous with the wicked, and treating them the same. The Lord acquiesces on this point, and Abraham is able to get the lord to promise that if only 10 righteous could be found in the cities, the Lord would hold off judgment. This discourse shows, hermeneutically, that man is an active participant in the outcome of matters, and that calling God on his word, if done accurately, results in constancy of application.
The idea of only 10 righteous people holding off this severe of a judgment demonstrates how important each individual is to God, and that even one person living a righteous life, can change the outcome of regions. It is also a perfect demonstration of last week’s topic of the full cup principle, as there were no righteous people to be found, other than Lot and his family, and they were ordered to leave immediately. Given that the continued existence of Sodom and Gomorrah would have caused only needless suffering, God in his Divine Justice acted to end this needless suffering.
Abraham accompanies the two angels and goes to the home of Lot. The Men of Sodom observed Abraham with the two angels, who were incarnated as men. The inhabitants were so engrossed and/or possessed by their sexual passions that they surrounded the house and demanded to have these two men sexually. Even with the offers of Lot’s two daughters, the men of Sodom were only interested in the men. The punishment dealt to these lustful men was literal blindness. However, this judgment mirrored the moral blindness these men already suffered from, and they were now in the midst of physical darkness, mirroring their spiritual darkness. These men did not see the light, so they had their ability to see any light extinguished. This is often how it is with God. Very often, the consequences and judgments sent by God are very similar to the nature of the sin committed, so there will be no mistaking what the source of this is.
After the men are struck with blindness, the Lord is clear in his pronouncement that the cities will be destroyed, and that Lot and his family must leave immediately. The story states Lot ‘tarried’ and the angels responded by taking Lot and his family by the hand and removing them from the cities. This demonstrates that once God decides to act, it is sudden, and on his time line. God is clear with Lot and his family that the destruction is going to be so harsh and complete, that they are not even allowed to look at it “lest they die’. Lot’s wife, like someone in a garden in days gone by, decided to challenge those words, but this time God carried through with his promise. Lot then hid in a cave with his two daughters, as the only survivors of this judgment.
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah has eschatological ramifications. It was totally destroyed by fire and brimstone and nothing was left but ash. In the times of Revelation, fire and brimstone will be used on three separate occasions. The first trumpet is ‘fire mixed with hail’ that will destroy 1/3 of the trees and green plants, but will destroy all of the green grass. The city of Babylon will be destroyed by fire, and will burn in an inferno while the unsaved are forced to watch and contemplate their own fate, and finally the whole earth will be cleansed by fire that will consume virtually every archive and sign of sinful man to have ever existed on this planet. However, like Lot, the righteous will be told to leave the city before this fate occurs. Part of their righteousness will be to listen to this prompting and to obey. God will then finish off this ultimate monster, created by both evil men and the evil angel king. This destruction will be complete and permanent, so that nothing will be left from the age of sin to contaminate a new and perfect eternity.
For those who may be skeptical of many of the biblical accounts in the Old Testament, here is a site that may peak some of your interests. I was introduced to this information while Ron Wyatt was alive, and had access to some picture and information I no longer see on the site. It gives one pause to see such information and to contemplate how such judgments took place, while thinking about a God who is unchanging and will carry through with the same principles, no matter when in history sin takes place. For your discernment.
http://www.wyattmuseum.com/cities-of-the-plain.htm
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
HERMENEUTICS 101: ABRAHAM'S PROMISE
George Offerman
This particular posting goes into the promises, and predictions made by God to Abraham. In it, you will note the accuracy and exactness of the fulfillment, and how the dynamics between the two ‘half brothers’ is still in existence to this day. It also demonstrates how God keeps his word, no matter what interference man throws into the mix. It also demonstrates the exactness of consequences an individual or group will pay when ‘meddling’ with God’s prophecy.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those that bless you, and him who curses you I will curse: and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves” Genesis 12:1-3
For all the land which you would see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. Genesis 13:15-17
And he brought him outside and said, “Look towards heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be” Genesis 15:5
Three times God made a promise to Abram concerning the future nation of Israel, and each time God made the promise, He used allegories that Abraham would not mistake or misinterpret, and after the third promise, scripture points out that Abram believed this despite having no offspring for himself, and being advanced in age. But due to some mischief from Sarai, with Abram’s cooperation, these plans took a detour, and this misadventure by Abram and Sarai has caused trouble from that day on, and continues to this day.
Sarai’s ‘indecent proposal”
Now, Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar; and Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children” go into my maid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her” And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. Genesis 16:1-2
Scripture refers to the timeframe in which God made a promise to Abram was about 10 years, and Abram and Sarai took it upon themselves to ‘fulfill’ the prophecy given to them by God. However, this had very large and unintended consequences for the future nation of Israel. The intended son, who was to fulfill this prophecy, although not born, and despite the ‘forced’ effort to fulfill God’s prophecy by his parents (similar to today) now would have to contend with God’s promise to make Abram’s descendants as ‘numerous with the stars’ with an illegitimate heir. It was God’s intention of keeping this promise to Abram’s “God given” son, but God kept his promise to multiply ALL of Abram’s descendants, thus causing future problems for all involved.
We pick up after Hagar fled to the desert out of fear of Saria:
The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And He said “Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai. The angel of the Lord said to her “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also told her I will so greatly multiply your descendants that they cannot be numbered for multitude”. And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are with child and shall bear a son; you shall call his name Ishmael; because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen”. Genesis 16:7-12
Ishmael, the illegitimate son of Abram and Hagar, was still entitled to the promise God made to Abram, but it ended up becoming a thorn in the side of the future nation of Israel. God demonstrated through this series of scriptures that He will keep his word, no matter how much interference is run by man’s way of thinking and acting. It also demonstrates what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into when we try to do God’s thinking for him. Scripture is rife with the struggle between these two half siblings and their offspring, and it fulfills passages in scripture, as well as Biblical principles that God keeps his promises.
The descendants of Ishmael eventually inhabited the majority of the Middle East, where they continue to live to this day. They are known as the Arabs, and their religious system is Islam. In considering the series of verses, this prophecy has been fulfilled in totality, as history has confirmed the constant infighting between these two clans. It is of no surprise that many in Islam want to see the total destruction of the Jewish nation and peoples, as they see them as the ‘illegitimate’ son of their father Abraham. As we can see, the struggle between the Jewish nation and Islam has been prophesized and fulfilled in scripture. This struggle will continue until the time of the Anti-Christ, and peace is not possible. We can see this through all the efforts put into the peace process, and it has been written that it will not occur.
The lessons to be gleaned from the likes of Abraham, considered one of the great fathers of the faith is, that no one is ‘above the law’ concerning God and His will. No matter what our perceived status may be, we are subject to His Holy will, and nothing we do can change the mind of God, who knows the beginning from the end.
This particular posting goes into the promises, and predictions made by God to Abraham. In it, you will note the accuracy and exactness of the fulfillment, and how the dynamics between the two ‘half brothers’ is still in existence to this day. It also demonstrates how God keeps his word, no matter what interference man throws into the mix. It also demonstrates the exactness of consequences an individual or group will pay when ‘meddling’ with God’s prophecy.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those that bless you, and him who curses you I will curse: and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves” Genesis 12:1-3
For all the land which you would see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. Genesis 13:15-17
And he brought him outside and said, “Look towards heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be” Genesis 15:5
Three times God made a promise to Abram concerning the future nation of Israel, and each time God made the promise, He used allegories that Abraham would not mistake or misinterpret, and after the third promise, scripture points out that Abram believed this despite having no offspring for himself, and being advanced in age. But due to some mischief from Sarai, with Abram’s cooperation, these plans took a detour, and this misadventure by Abram and Sarai has caused trouble from that day on, and continues to this day.
Sarai’s ‘indecent proposal”
Now, Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar; and Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children” go into my maid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her” And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. Genesis 16:1-2
Scripture refers to the timeframe in which God made a promise to Abram was about 10 years, and Abram and Sarai took it upon themselves to ‘fulfill’ the prophecy given to them by God. However, this had very large and unintended consequences for the future nation of Israel. The intended son, who was to fulfill this prophecy, although not born, and despite the ‘forced’ effort to fulfill God’s prophecy by his parents (similar to today) now would have to contend with God’s promise to make Abram’s descendants as ‘numerous with the stars’ with an illegitimate heir. It was God’s intention of keeping this promise to Abram’s “God given” son, but God kept his promise to multiply ALL of Abram’s descendants, thus causing future problems for all involved.
We pick up after Hagar fled to the desert out of fear of Saria:
The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And He said “Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai. The angel of the Lord said to her “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also told her I will so greatly multiply your descendants that they cannot be numbered for multitude”. And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are with child and shall bear a son; you shall call his name Ishmael; because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen”. Genesis 16:7-12
Ishmael, the illegitimate son of Abram and Hagar, was still entitled to the promise God made to Abram, but it ended up becoming a thorn in the side of the future nation of Israel. God demonstrated through this series of scriptures that He will keep his word, no matter how much interference is run by man’s way of thinking and acting. It also demonstrates what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into when we try to do God’s thinking for him. Scripture is rife with the struggle between these two half siblings and their offspring, and it fulfills passages in scripture, as well as Biblical principles that God keeps his promises.
The descendants of Ishmael eventually inhabited the majority of the Middle East, where they continue to live to this day. They are known as the Arabs, and their religious system is Islam. In considering the series of verses, this prophecy has been fulfilled in totality, as history has confirmed the constant infighting between these two clans. It is of no surprise that many in Islam want to see the total destruction of the Jewish nation and peoples, as they see them as the ‘illegitimate’ son of their father Abraham. As we can see, the struggle between the Jewish nation and Islam has been prophesized and fulfilled in scripture. This struggle will continue until the time of the Anti-Christ, and peace is not possible. We can see this through all the efforts put into the peace process, and it has been written that it will not occur.
The lessons to be gleaned from the likes of Abraham, considered one of the great fathers of the faith is, that no one is ‘above the law’ concerning God and His will. No matter what our perceived status may be, we are subject to His Holy will, and nothing we do can change the mind of God, who knows the beginning from the end.
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